READ AN EXCERPT BELOW
I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything. She sees through me in a way no one else ever has. Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it. I know better than to give in to temptation…
~ check prices before you buy ~
WAR IS COMING.
It’s something I’ve known for over two years.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
A tic in my jaw clenches in time with the rhythm of the clock, while the skin over my knuckles turns white as my fist squeezes tighter. Tension rises in my stiff shoulders and I have to remind myself to breathe in deeply and let the strain of it all go away.
Tick-tock. It’s the only sound echoing off the walls of my office and with each pass of the pendulum, the anger grows.
It’s always like this before I go to a meet. This one, in particular, sends a thrill through my blood, the adrenaline pumping harder with each passing minute.
“You really think they’re going through with it?” I hear my brother, Daniel, before I see him. The remembrance fades in an instant.
It takes a second for me to be conscious of my facial expression, to relax my jaw and let go of the anger before I can raise my gaze to his.
“With the war and the deal? You think he’ll go through with it and take her tonight?” he clarifies.
“There are men to the left of us,” I tell him as I step forward and close the distance between us. “There are men to the right. There is no possible outcome where we don’t pick a side.”
He nods once and slides his thumb across the stubble on his chin before looking back at me. “And the girl?” he asks, his piercing eyes reminding me that both of us fought, both of us survived, and we each had a tragic path that led us to where we are today.
“Aria?” I dare to speak her name and the sound of my smooth voice seems to linger in the space between us. I don’t wait for him to acknowledge me—or her, rather.
“She has no choice.” My voice tightens as I say the words.
Clearing my throat, I brace my palms against the window, feeling the frigid fall beneath my hands and lean forward to see Addison beneath us. “What do you think they would have done to Addison if they’d succeeded in taking her?”
His jaw clenches, but he doesn’t answer my question. Instead he replies, “We don’t know who tried to take her from me.”
I shrug as if it’s semantics and not at all relevant. “Still. Women aren’t meant to be touched, but they went for Addison first.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Daniel says with indignation in his tone.
“Isn’t it better she come to us?” My head tilts as I pose the question and this time he takes a moment to respond.
“She’s not one of us. Not like Addison, and you know what Romano expects you to do with her.”
“Yes, the daughter of the enemy…” My heart beats hard in my chest, and the steady rhythm reminds me of the ticking of the clock. “I know exactly what he wants me to do with her.”
